~ Creative Residency Center

Artist Talk

On June 6 2012, there were eleven people mingling around the patio of Lucinda’s Rock House at Hambidge Center for the Monthly Second Saturday Artist Talk. Artists in residence included Tania Hershman, Barry Kitterman, John Allen, Jessica Wohl, John-Paul Floyd, Leigh Ann Couch, and John Folsom. We also welcomed Dayna Thacker, Communications Director of Hambidge, her husband and Hambidge Fellow Rich Gere, and two other guests and long-time friends of the center.

Barry is a short story writer and novelist. He read from his current work-in-progress, the beginning of his new novel. His past work has had a specific character consistently reappearing in his short stories, and he is working on a novel in which she is an important player.

Leigh Ann was only here for a few days, taking a last hurrah before her second child is born. She read two of her poems from her previous Hambidge residence.

Tania traveled all the way from Bristol, England, for a residency. She read three very short pieces from her new collection of short stories that came out last month, entitled “My Mother Was an Upright Piano.” Tania is going to a short story convention later in the summer, so she lined up several events and visits in America so she can get a better taste of the country.

After the authors shared their writing, everyone hiked up to one of the cabins, where visual artists Jessica and John-Paul used a projector to present their work.

Jessica is spending her residency exploring and experimenting, so she presented some of her work from the past three years. She shared some of the inspiration behind her pieces, and the symbolism of her medium. Her work is heavily influenced by Gothic literature, and exploring the personification of suburbia and cultural traditions.

John Paul also displayed some of his past photographs, including some pictures that attempted to re-create his childhood memories, and abstract photos that representative of dreams of a possible future, and a black-and-white series made in memorial to a former nature reserve that he and his rock-climbing group saved from destruction. John Paul is spending his residency exploring the area in and around Hambidge, and refreshing his inspiration.